The samurai were a class of skilled professional warriors, experts in deadly force. They were similar to European knights in ...

Specifically, they depended on the court aristocrats—the kuge. These nobles had no real military power of their own and were not able to enforce order effectively in much of Japan. So they ...

Specifically, they depended on the court aristocrats—the kuge. These nobles had no real military power of their own and were not able to enforce order effectively in much of Japan. So they hired ...